Apparatus for refining petroleum and tar



I (No Model.) 24 Sheets-Sheet 1 T. MARRIN. I APPARATUS FOR REFINING PETROLEUM AND TAR.

No. 243,930. Patented July 5, 1881..

Wl'hzesses l- (No mbael. 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

T. MARRIN. v APPARATUS FOR REFINING PETROLEUM AND TAR.

No. 243,930. Patented July 5,1881.

N. PETERS. P'huwLium n her. Wnshi n nnnnnn c.

UNITED STATES} PATENT O FICE.

THOMAS MARRIN, OF OIL CITY, PENNSYLVANIA.

APPARATUS FOR REFININGPETROLEUM AND TAR.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 243,930, dated July 5, 1881.

7 Application filed May 14,1880. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS MARRIN, of Oil City, in the county of Venango and State of Pennsylvania, have invented new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Refining Petroleum and Tar; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification, in which drawings- Figure 1 represents a perspective view of the apparatus with the condensing-tank in section. Fig. 2 represents a section of the benzine and gas tank with a steam-coil therein. Fig. 3 represents a section of a number of drums in a condenser. Fig. 4 represents a section of a fire-escape valve.

Similar letters of reference in the several figures denote like parts.

Heretofore the methods employed for refinin g have been worked at great disadvantages and some loss of the products, owing to the imperfect construction of the apparatus employed. The various grades of the distillate have to pass through several mechanical devices after leaving the stills-such as the steaming apparatus and sprayinghouse-and have to be manipulated considerably before theyare ready for the market. The residuum or tarremaining in the stills after the illuminating-oil has all passed over is redistilled several times before arriving at the proper degree for lubricants and paraffine for making wax and other products, thus involving a great loss of time and expense by the ordinary apparatus and methods employed. With my improved apparatus the different grades of oil are run at one distillation without employing other apparatus for a separate treatment, and at a certain stage of the process the gravities work somewhat automatically by the arrangement of the tubes or pipes located in the separator, to be hereinafter more fully described.

Inthe distillation of the tar the entire contents of the stills can be run without redistilling, which cannot be accomplished by the ordinary process.

pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, A indicates the retort or still, which is provided with a number of pipes, at, which connect with a number of vertical pipes, 0, arranged in pairs for receiving the gases and condensed vapors. Connecting with each pair of these vertical pipes C are a number of distributing-pipes, E, which are connected about centrally at e and partially immersed in the water of the condenser. These distributing-pipes extend somewhat above the pipes C and connect with the succeeding pair of vertical pipes at e, and in the same way with every pair of pipes C, and finally terminate in the gas or vapor pipe D. There is also another vapor-pipe, D, elevated considerably above the other pipes, and adapted for the lightest vapors, so as not'to crowd the other pipes when the distillate comes over too fast,.as shown at Figs. 1 and 3. All of the above-mentioned pipes and connections constitute my separator. These vertical pipes C are also provided with short horizontal pipes C, for relieving the pressure on the still when the distillation is too rapid,.the gas which should have passed to thenext pair of pipes being partly condensed in forcing through the liquid'in the first pair of pipes.

Connecting at the lowermost part of each pair of vertical pipes C are tail-pipes 1, 2, 3,

4, 5, 6, and 7. Said tail-pipes are provided with cocks 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14, which are designed to close the flow of oil or distillate to the small receiving-tanks 21, 22, 23,

24, 25, and 26 at certain stages of the distilla-.

tion, and opening the cooks 15, 16, 17,18, 19,

and 20, secured to the pipes I and I, allow the distillate to flow into the general tank J and also into the general tank for light oils, (not shown in the drawings,) communicating with pipe I.

The object of having the pipes O andE project above the condenser F, as shown at 0 is to allow the vapors which are not condensed in the first pair of pipes to arise and not condense too soon, but pass into the succeeding pair of pipes, and so on,continuing to the termination of the series.

Secured to the vapor-pipe D is a vapor or fire escape valve, h, a check-valve, i, and also a cock, j. There is also another pipe, D provided with a cock, j, and connecting with a tank. (Not shown in the drawings.) The object of the check-valve i is to prevent fire from running back or comm unicatin g with the stills,

as the back-pressure of the gas will close the check-valve, owing to the sudden expansion of said gas by the fire, and the fire-escape valve 7:, which opens into the atmosphere, (shown at Fig. 4,) would allow the flames to appear, thus notifying the employs, or the gas-whistle 7c, on the gas-tank 27, would also notify that something was wrong, when the cock 9' would be closed and the cock j opened, thus allowing the gases to communicate with another tank, and thus prevent the gases from escaping and causing a general confiagration.

The tank 27, for holding gas and benzine,is

provided with a pressure-valve, k, and a gas-v whistle, k, which are to notify the employs when the tank is full, when the cock Z is opened, and the surplus gas is drawn through pipe L into the pump M, from whence it is forced through pipe L into the gas-holder N.

The gas-holder is of the ordinary construction, such as usedin common gas-works. Gonnectin g with the gas-holder N and the tank 27 are pipes m m, which connect with feed-pipes n a n, for feeding the furnaces under the stills. On thebottom ofthebenzine-tank 27is a steamcoil, 0, (shown at Fig. 2,) for vaporizing the light products for feeding the furnaces.

AtFig. 3 the separator is composed of drums G which have divisions or partitions c, for holding the gases in abeyance until partly condensed, the remaining gases passing to the opposite side of said partition and into the next drum and operating in a similar way to the separator shown at Fig. 1, but with not quite as good results.

In operating my improved apparatus, the still A is charged with crude oil, all the cooks being closed except the benzine-cock 14 and the gas-cock j. (Said cock 7' is always open except in case of fire, as previously described.) After the charge has run somewhat cocks 13, 12, and 11 are opened, allowing the distillate to flow into the tanks 26, 25, and 24. As the gravities become heavier 'the cooks 10, 9, and 8 are opened, thus allowing different gravities to flow into separate tanks, the heavier oils flowing into tank 21, and so on to the lightest, which would be 26, then dropping 26 to 25 tank, and back again to 22 and 21, until the distillate is entirely run. By entirely run I mean that the tar can be brought over with the oils, and thus running the stills entirely dry. If preferable, the distillate can be discontinued at any stage in the process, which can be ascertained by the gage-cocks 19,10- eated in the still A. When the cooks are all opened and the gravities become somewhat regular, they become automatically self-regulating, owing to the peculiar construction of the separator. It frequently happens that the fires are too hot or not hot enough, when the gravities will vary, and variation would be detrimental to the quality of the distillate.

With my improved apparatus the distillate is self-regulating at certain stages of the pro cess, which is occasioned by the arrangements of the pipes G, E, and c, which constitute the separator-that is, as the gases come over into the first pair of pipes they partly condense,

if the vapors are heavy enough, and pass out the tail-pipe 1, the uncondensed vapors pass upward and become more volatile as they enter the unimmersed parts 0 which .allow them to flow to the next succeeding pair of pipes, 6, when the gases are again condensed and flow into the tail-pipe 2, the remaining uncondensed vapors entering the pipe E to the next pair, the distillate becoming lighter in gravity as it approaches the gas-pipe D, as previous 'ly stated, and finally terminates from tank 26,

running back to tanks 22 and 21, when the oil is the heaviest and the charge is all run.

I am aware that the separators of petroleumrefineries have been provided with coiled pipes immersed in cooling-liquid that a series of tanks have been used to receive the distillate of different gravities, and that the light products of the gas have been burned under the still or stored in tanks. Therefore, I do not claim any of the old devices, broadly; but

That which I claim as new, and desire to se pipe D, connected with benzine-tank, substantially as shown and described.

2. In a refinery, the combination of the tank F, siphon-pipes O, immersed in coolingliquid, vertical pipes E, above said tank, with tailvpipes 1 to 6, connected with the lower bends of siphon-pipes G, condensing-troughs H, and tanks 21 to 26, all arranged substantially as shown and described.

3. In a refinery, the combination of the Y end immersed in a cooling-liquid in said tank, my ownI affix my signature in presence of two an elevated connecting-pipe uniting the upper witnesses.

end or longest leg of the siphons and pipe D with the benzine-tank 27, steam-Boil 0 there- THOMAS MARRIN' in, and gas-holder N, substantially as shown Witnesses:

and described. W. F. GROVES, In testimony that I claim the foregoing as R. EDELEN. 

